Based on a Twilight Zone episode “The Encounter”
While cleaning out her late grandfather’s attic, a young woman named Riley discovers an old Scottish claymore sword. A Scottish immigrant named Callum enters, looking for work as a handyman. Riley is hesitant at first, but Callum’s friendly demeanor puts her at ease. As they share a beer, Callum tells Riley about his pride in his Scottish heritage and the struggles he faced when he first arrived in America.
Riley shows Callum the claymore sword and explains that her grandfather, an American veteran of World War II, brought it back from Scotland after the war. Callum becomes fascinated with the sword and asks to hold it. As he grips the hilt, he suddenly says “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him. Why?”
Riley is taken aback but Callum quickly apologizes, explaining that he felt a strange energy from the sword. Riley dismisses it and they continue talking, but tensions rise as Callum reveals his past experiences with discrimination and stereotyping as a Scottish immigrant in America. Riley’s casual ignorance about Scottish culture and language begins to grate on him, and he becomes more confrontational.
As they discuss the sword’s history, Callum begins to have flashbacks to his grandfather’s stories of the Scottish Wars of Independence. He becomes increasingly agitated, believing that the sword is meant to avenge the wrongs done to his people. Riley tries to calm him down, but the sword seems to take over, and they end up in a heated argument.
Callum accuses Riley’s grandfather of stealing the sword from Scotland and killing its rightful owner. Riley denies this, but Callum becomes more and more convinced. As they argue, the sword falls to the ground, and when they try to pick it up, they find that it’s stuck in the floorboards.
In a moment of vulnerability, Riley confides in Callum that she’s been struggling with depression and grief since her grandfather’s death. Callum softens, and they bond over their shared struggles. But the moment is short-lived as Callum becomes more and more convinced that the sword is cursed.
In a fit of rage, Callum attempts to attack Riley with the sword. She manages to fend him off, but in the scuffle, the sword becomes wedged in the wall, pointing upwards. Callum tries to retrieve it but ends up impaling himself on the sword. As he dies, he utters a final cry of “Freedom!”
Riley is left alone in the attic, shaken but alive. The sword remains lodged in the wall, a reminder of the violence and history that it represents.
